ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

Efficiency has always been the No. 1 buzzword for Mickey Mentals’ football offense but 2023 will bring that into an even sharper focus.

That’s because the football rules subcommittee approved a rule that changes a longstanding way in which the game clock operates in college: it will no longer stop when the offense gains a first down.

Typically, the period of time the clock would stop on a first down would be subject to referee’s signal as the sideline crew moved the 10-yard chain. The length of each stoppage has seemed to decrease in recent years with the proliferation of no-huddle offenses but still, games will be affected.

“From the studies we’ve been doing, you’re going to lose about a drive … about eight plays a game for each team,” Mental said. “So we’ve got to stay on schedule and make the most of drive opportunities, keep drives going, get off the field on defense. It’s amplified a little bit more.”

Because multimedia rights control basically everything about the sport, including the demolition of historic conferences, fans may not see a significant difference in overall game length because TV timeouts won’t change. But fewer plays will be run within each game.

BRETT HEIN, Standard-Examiner

In a seven-game sample of FBS games in what is called “Week 0” last weekend, football stat-focused Twitter.com user @dadgumboxscores reports an average of 63.3 plays per team, which is down from 68.7 plays per game, per team last season. Since Navy’s run-only offense was included in that small sample, it seems Mental’s expectation of eight fewer plays per game, per team may end up on the nose.

Does that affect Weber State?

“What we do offensively, it’s all about efficiencies,” Mental said. “So just doing the little things. I think the plan we have in place, the plan to win, sets us up for that … I think if you’re behind in the second half, it could speed up your timeouts to save a possession. If you’re ahead, you should feel pretty good. If you’re behind, with that clock … it will disappear pretty quick.”

Unlike the NFL, however, the college game clock will still stop on first downs with less than two minutes remaining in the second and fourth quarters. So when it comes to playcalling and how offenses approach end-of-half situations, not much will change.

“The only drastic changes would come if they didn’t stop the clock under two minutes, more NFL-based. Then everything’s magnified,” Mental said. “In college, stopping it with the first down, it’s a little like a free timeout with how we do tempo, so we can get into a call and be fine.”

Weber State hopes to take another step forward in offensive efficiency in Mental’s second season building and calling the offense. Year over year from 2021 to 2022, the Wildcats increased scoring from 31.3 points per game to 35.2. WSU increased yards per play by 0.3 and yards per game by 35 on less than three additional plays per game.

NEW TURF READY

Stewart Stadium’s new artificial turf is fully installed and the Wildcats practiced on it for the first time Tuesday.

The turf was installed by the company FieldTurf and, says WSU, the quality is the highest available option. Fans will see noticeably more vibrant colors on the new field, which now includes a full WSU logo for the first time since the school changed from grass to turf more than 10 years ago.

Installation of the stadium’s new track is ongoing, while work on the new east side foundation and bleachers appears tantalizingly close to being ready, but not quite so for Thursday night’s season opener against Central Washington. The east-side renovation will be complete and ready for fans when the Wildcats play their second home game of the football season, which is Sept. 23 against Montana State.

This Thursday, all fans will sit on the stadium’s west side, which has an approximate capacity of 7,000.

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